Monkeypaws

The kind of prospects being bandied about here aren't going to be rule-5 fodder. They'll be MLB players.

Oh, love me some very early spring optimism! :-D

Beware the curse of Nishi!

The next recession is gonna put those ticket prices in pretty rarified air. Franchises like Oakland, San Diego, Philly, White Sox, Miami and Tampa Bay gonna be toast.

Your post exemplifies everything I hate about professional sports.

Moneywise, much better to give Buxton a gradually increasing long-term deal than shoot the wad on a free-agent that will command top dollar from start to finish. If he busts, which is unlikely, your losses will be much easier to recoup than 25x6 type deals, which a logical extension for BB would never approach. If he plays up to expectations, you got a deal.

A few humble hopes: Buxton garners MVP attention. Berrios garners Cy Young attention. Meija pitches better than almost all the UFAs out there.

The Twins could and should extend a number of those players soon. The window can grow.

Dukeroo - I always wanted a Twins jersey with Duke on the back. Had a great-uncle Duke who was awesome, and have a cat named Duke. I like the name Duke. If he can actually contribute, it will be gravy.

Actually, excellent idea - look at Eckersley.

Karloff?

Same initials as Tom Kelly? That's all I got.

I'm gonna make the call - Darvish to Chicago Cubs.

Who is generally regarded as better, Severino or Marte? Can't have everything.

I saw on MLB that Seattle traded them some international money for a prospect, perhaps that money which came from the Twins. Nice bit of irony there.

Still, nearly a third of a billion dollars is a nice obligation to get out of for the Marlins, considering half the contract is 33 + years old, for a guy that whiffs a lot. Last year was a career year for Gioncarlo, perhaps even an outlier. He probably has several more like it in him, but those last 5-6 years could be ugly, especially for a team like Miami. OTOH, he could go full Papy and be the best DH in baseball. Still, the Yanks find enough of their own studs for me to hate them. Their best players are usually home grown.

I have a hard time imagining why TB would want to trade Archer - he checks all the boxes for the kind of pitcher everybody wants. IMO, it would take elite talent to even get them to think about it: yeah, Buxton or Sano type players.

If he can master his secret pitch, the whirling dervish, there couldn't be a "too much."

I'm sure there is evidence to support both sides, but only one team wins it all, so going all in is more likely to fail than succeed. Just build a good team that doesn't need help at the deadline, like the Twins in 87 and 91.

Look at the Wild - Fletcher loves to swap picks for rentals, and so far it hasn't resulted in deeper playoff runs. Going all in guarantees only one thing: a weaker farm system.

Our cuppeth overflows.

Wait what?! Hell yeah Bill Brown!

Merde alors.

Inefficiency and waste annoy me more than owners being conservative with their money. Morris was only a 1 year deal. No problem with that.

As you mentioned, very few players in their primes (under 30)hit free agency. Look at high profile free agents: Zito, Fielder, Pujols, etc. Albatross contracts that hamstring an organization. I'm sure there are some that work out. Greg Maddux comes to mind, but he was 27 and the and the Cubs had issues, and arguably that was a different era. Big money contracts are rarely worth it, especially for those that get themselves in the position to reap the rewards. Age, satisfaction, many factors contribute. Adding a sensible free-agent to address a weakness in a mature team? Hell yeah. Chili Davis, Jack Morris, good adds that helped put their team over the top, all low risk short term deals. Big money free-agency is a fool's game.